Are annual shots overkill!!!

I may be on the outer with my opinion but i am a firm advocate of vaccinating, my children and my pets, yes there are indeed risks and of course i do worry about them, but i believe the risk of getting these outweigh the risks of vaccination,there are some unlucky ones, humans and animals as have been told here, and i guess if that happened to me i might well change my mind.

We donot have rabies vaccine here in NZ, so that is a plus, not needed, let us hope it stays that way, and i vaccinate my cats every two years for cat flue etc, it has only recently been reduced to two yearly , used to be once a year.

In an ideal world if everyone vaccinated we would beable to irradicate nearly all these diseases,well that is my personal belief anyhow.

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Originally Posted by carole

In an ideal world if everyone vaccinated we would beable to irradicate nearly all these diseases,well that is my personal belief anyhow.

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I disagree with this. When Visa was a puppy, there was an older litter being raised with them. After their older litter recieved vaccines, one of the puppies developed parvovirus (the disease he was being vaccinated against GAVE it to him). After days of living with the other litter, Visa and her littermates were perfectly fine. The vet vaccinated the litter, the vaccines weakened the immune systems, and all of the puppies developed parvo. Some of these puppies died. If it weren't for the vaccines, none of these puppies would have developed parvo in the first place. Vaccinosis is not rare at all -- I hear about it all the time. When you are vaccinating, you are giving a part of the diseas e to the animal, therefore it is impossible to eradicate all diseases by vaccinations alone.

Actually, it is possible. Smallpox and polio ring a bell?

People are NOT the same thing --- Polio and smallpox vaccines were not given to every single person for dozens of years annually or every few years. Dogs can have ten generation pedigrees where every single dog in that pedigree recieved the exact same vaccinations. Not only does this mean that the dog is breeding a weaker immune system into it's line, but that dog is carrying on a higher chance of vaccine sensitivities. Smallpox was not something that was vaccinated into the entire world population for years and years and years. Vaccinosis is extremely rare in people compared to dogs because people are not vaccinated as often and not with nearly as dangerous protocols. People are not able to start breeding at a young age and create litters that pass on the same genetic predispositions every year. Smallpox and polio compared to parvo virus is not the same thing at all. Parvo is one of the more common vaccinosis reactions, it has been known to last on sterilized surfaces for up to 7 years, etc. There is no way that every canine and feline disease could be wiped out as easily as polio and smallpox were.

The original purpose of Rabies vaccines and the laws requiring rabies vaccine was not to protect the dogs, it was to protect the human population from getting the disease through dogs. Given the fact that rabies is a fairly common disease in wild animals in North America, not vaccinating is foolish.

If a reliable test for immune levels was developed and allowed by law, I could see not vaccinating every three years. Until that happens, however, I'll follow the law.

If the rabies vaccine was created to protect humans, why don't the humans get the vaccines? Because there is a strong risk of problems, so instead we give them to our pets. I don't understand why we give them to dogs anyways -- I mean, if someone is stupid enough to not go to the doctor after being bit by a rabid dog...It takes 3-12 weeks for rabies symptoms to start. By then, it would be obvious that the animal has rabies. Of course if it is a stray dog,there should be enough suspicion of a dog randomly attacking somone that they would go to the dotocr. The only animal that doesn't give a very noticable bite is a bat, so that is the only time I can see someone not going to their doctor. The problem is not rabies, it's people's common sense.

There IS a legal reliable test for antibody levels that can be used in most areas--- it's called a titer. My dog gets it annually. Rabies vaccinations are not required by law where I live, as rabies is very rare. The very first rabid skunk in BC was found two years ago.

Rabies is the only one I get for my pets one becouse of the law, and we live in an area with proven rabied bats.
I got my kids their first 2 vaccines and both got sick , and then I started reading about them . I stopped getting them , too many factors show that too many other things are happening to the kids getting them. ( hyper activity, autism, and immume defistionsys(sp) ) Son got hyper active after his two. Plus the pertusus in the whooping caugh one each one spiked a 1o4 temop in 20 mintues( so did I as a kid)

I stopped getting vaccines after getting sick too. After my second HepB shot I was sick with flu-like symptoms for two weeks and developed a phobia of anything sharp. Now whenever I need my blood tested I have an absolute panic attack. My dad developed both the hyperactive and innattentive subtypes of ADHD after getting his first shots, so he never had any shots for the rest of his life. My stepmom always laughs because she got all of her vaccinations and still got mumps, my dad didn't get any vaccinations and barely gets a cold.

I've also been worried about the annual vaccines. Nebo has received all of them each year and is due this July (annual, next year rabies) but I don't think I'm going to do the annuals. I've asked about the titer tests but I haven't yet found a vet that does that, I will keep looking. Are any of the diseases the annual vaccines are made to prevent life threatening in a healthy adult dog (besides rabies)? I know parvo can be life threatening but I thought it was a lot more serious in puppies.

I do think he'll still get a rabies vaccine though, because I'm paranoid. I know that if by chance he bit anyone if I couldn't provide proof of a current rabies vaccination he'd have to be quarantined for at least 10 days. When I was bit by a cat at work and it was not current the cat had to be (by law) quarantined, or kill the cat to test it (I'm not sure if I, being the one bit, actually could choose to have that happen? I didn't and wouldn't of course). I didn't want to get the rabies shots, so I rather just hoped I didn't get a phone call saying the cat showed symptoms of rabies, bad idea I know. :o I don't think rabies is *that* common around here but I do go camping often where there's lots of wild animals........like I said, I'm paranoid. :o

*edited to add: I got a flu shot once and became extremely ill from it and I have sworn to never get one again!

Hmmm. I think I am divided on this issue. Where I live, I am pretty sure there are things that are really common besides heartworm (which, as we all know, is not taken care of by vaccination but rather a topical or pill.). I would just be worried about my fur babies coming in contact with any diseases. Hmm. I shall do some more research.

So far, (even though this doesn't apply, exactly) Soni has been vaccinated against rabies, feline leukemia, and fvrcpc. I will do the same for Isis because not only is it required by law but I have to do it in order for her to be spayed (some even require a bordatella vacc.).

edit: As far as human vaccinations go, I have had a polio vaccination, and have started the hep b several times but never finished, amongst others and have never had a problem with them myself. Then again, I've always been pretty darn healthy minus the ear infections when I was way younger and especially concerning something else.

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Originally Posted by .sarah

Rabies shots are very, very unnecessary except to abide by the law,
which I have found a way to get around ...

For Rabies - I have a way to get around it that I don't want to say publicly ...

Rabies is the worst, it effects the nervous system.
It can cause fear, aggression, and anxiety.
Because of the [rabies] shot Luka is afraid of pretty much everything now,
even our backyard. I think it caused Mandy's aggression too ...

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http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/eek.gif

I'm pretty sure all 50 of the US States, or in the case of Ohio - all the COUNTIES,
require Rabies Vaccinations; usually for dogs, cats, and ferrets.

The big rub comes if your dog is accused of *biting* a Human or another Pet -
You are then required to Prove your dog has a current Rabies Certificate -
which in Ohio must be signed by a licensed VET.
Without proof of the Rabies Vaccination - the law allows the Health Department to
order the biting dog quarantined and if suspected of being rabid, euthanised for testing for rabies.

Falsifying a Rabies Certificate - is probably a criminal act - I'd hate to accused
of doing that.

As for the Rabies Vaccination *CAUSING* "fear, aggression, and anxiety"
in a vaccinated dog - NEVER heard of that being a problem.

Long & Short of it - YOU can't be certain that your dog will "never" come in
contact with a RABID wild animal - thereby running the risk of being infected with Rebies.

Not worth the risk to me - even Boots, da INSIDE Kat, gets his Rabies Shot
every three years!

/s/ Phred

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Originally Posted by Cinder & Smoke

As for the Rabies Vaccination *CAUSING* "fear, aggression, and anxiety"
in a vaccinated dog - NEVER heard of that being a problem.

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On my vet's website (I posted th link in my second post) she talks about rabies vaccines causing behavioural problems, she has experienced it herself firsthand. Cali has also gone through it with her dog, Happy -- I'm sure she'll pipe in eventually. :)

Rabies vaccines are given to dogs by law because the easiest way to control a disease is to control the disease vector. For humans, the most common vector for rabies was dogs. Hence, rabies vaccines for dogs.

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Originally Posted by Cinder & Smoke

I'm pretty sure all 50 of the US States, or in the case of Ohio - all the COUNTIES, require Rabies Vaccinations; usually for dogs, cats, and ferrets.

The big rub comes if your dog is accused of *biting* a Human or another Pet -
You are then required to Prove your dog has a current Rabies Certificate -
which in Ohio must be signed by a licensed VET.

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It is different here in Florida, a vet does not have to give the vaccine.

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Falsifying a Rabies Certificate - is probably a criminal act - I'd hate to accused of doing that.

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Me too, but what are the chances? I never leave my dogs alone with strangers, so what is the chances of them biting? I'm really not worried.

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As for the Rabies Vaccination *CAUSING* "fear, aggression, and anxiety" in a vaccinated dog - NEVER heard of that being a problem.

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Read the links I provided. It can happen and it happens all the time. People just brush it off as "just another fearful dog" because it has become "normal". It's NOT normal for a dog to be afraid of everything, especially when it's never been abused. It has happened severly to one of my dogs, and Mandy could have also been affected but it was so long ago that we can't prove it. Nova was affected by one of the other vaccines.

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Long & Short of it - YOU can't be certain that your dog will "never" come in contact with a RABID wild animal - thereby running the risk of being infected with Rebies.

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There aren't very many rabid animals in comparison to the non-rabid animals. Yes, it is possible. But having had one, possibly two, of my dogs been affected by the vaccine, I'll take my chances.

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Originally Posted by carole

I may be on the outer with my opinion but i am a firm advocate of vaccinating, my children and my pets, yes there are indeed risks and of course i do worry about them, but i believe the risk of getting these outweigh the risks of vaccination,there are some unlucky ones, humans and animals as have been told here, and i guess if that happened to me i might well change my mind.

We donot have rabies vaccine here in NZ, so that is a plus, not needed, let us hope it stays that way, and i vaccinate my cats every two years for cat flue etc, it has only recently been reduced to two yearly , used to be once a year.

In an ideal world if everyone vaccinated we would beable to irradicate nearly all these diseases,well that is my personal belief anyhow.

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I am sorry but I do disagree with you on this topic. I think vaccinations are one of the main killers of babies. And there is a great deal of proof out there if people would just look into it. Here is a list of just fillers for your average vaccination.


Vaccine Fillers and Ingredients

In addition to the viral and bacterial RNA or DNA that is part of the vaccines, here are the fillers:

aluminum hydroxide
aluminum phosphate
ammonium sulfate
amphotericin B
animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain,
dog kidney, monkey kidney,
chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg
calf (bovine) serum
betapropiolactone
fetal bovine serum
formaldehyde
formalin
gelatin
glycerol
***human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)****
hydrolized gelatin
monosodium glutamate (MSG)
neomycin
neomycin sulfate
phenol red indicator
phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)
potassium diphosphate
potassium monophosphate
polymyxin B
polysorbate 20
polysorbate 80
porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein
residual MRC5 proteins
sorbitol
sucrose
thimerosal (mercury)
tri(n)butylphosphate,
VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells
washed sheep red blood cells

Do you want this in your baby...